“Walt Disney — A Magical Life”: A Tribute to the Man Behind the Magic

As Disneyland Resort continues to have fun its seventieth anniversary, a groundbreaking new present and attraction is taking heart stage on the Main Street Opera House: “Walt Disney — A Magical Life.”

This immersive expertise honors the legacy of Walt Disney by means of a mix of storytelling, innovation, and heartfelt tribute — culminating within the debut of the first-ever Audio-Animatronics determine of Walt himself.

 

“The 70th anniversary of Disneyland gave us an incredible opportunity to create this show — ‘Walt Disney — A Magical Life’ — to remind the public about Walt Disney, his life, his career, his incredible journey,” Tom Fitzgerald, Senior Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, stated.

Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, Portfolio Executive Creative Producer, Walt Disney Imagineering, added, “This fitting tribute gives millions of our guests a moment of wish fulfillment to feel what it was like to be in Walt’s presence.”

The Imagineers labored very carefully with the Walt Disney Archives and The Walt Disney Family Museum to make sure an correct portrayal of the main points of Walt and his workplace.

“But, most importantly,” Shaver-Moskowitz added, “we were passionate about creating an Audio-Animatronics portrayal that had all of his nuances, his facial expressions, his hand gestures, all those things that made this performance, this theatrical presentation, feel uniquely Walt.”

The present begins with a movie adaptation of “One Man’s Dream,” narrated by Walt himself, tracing his journey from humble beginnings in Marceline, MO, to world icon. The finale reveals the Audio-Animatronics determine of Walt in a recreation of his Burbank workplace, the place he shares tales and philosophies drawn from a long time of archival recordings.

“Creating an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney is something that the team took very seriously, likely as seriously as Walt Disney did in creating the Audio-Animatronics figure of Abraham Lincoln decades ago,” Fitzgerald stated.

Audio-Animatronics know-how was pioneered within the Sixties by Walt Disney and his Imagineers and made a serious impression on the 1964 World’s Fair with — amongst different figures — Abraham Lincoln within the present “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” which now shares a house with “Walt Disney — A Magical Life.” In the six a long time since, the know-how has solely improved.

“For ‘Walt Disney — A Magical Life,’ the team at Walt Disney Imagineering has created the most lifelike figure we have ever created,” Fitzgerald stated.

To obtain this, Imagineers developed what they name “moonshots” — leaps in know-how for a humanoid determine that embody tender eyelids, expressive eyebrows, and even the twinkle in Walt’s eye.

“All of these things bring the personality of Walt Disney to life in a way that could never have been done before,” Fitzgerald added.

The attraction is greater than a technical marvel — it’s a message of perseverance and creativity.

“Walt Disney’s story is an amazing one. What a journey. Throughout his career, he had setbacks, but he never gave up. He kept moving forward and we thought that was a message that was an important one to share with our audience today. Follow your dreams. Never give up. Yes, you will have setbacks. Turn them into success and give the world your best,” Fitzgerald stated.